Carnival, T-Mobile, Barclays: Stocks That Defined the Week
February 14 2020 - 5:43PM
Dow Jones News
By Francesca Fontana
Carnival Corp.
Cruise companies are experiencing turbulence as the coronavirus
epidemic spreads. More than 170 passengers aboard Carnival's
Diamond Princess cruise ship have caught the virus, causing about
3,700 passengers and crew to be quarantined for two weeks. Carnival
has canceled February cruises on four Costa Cruises ships in China
as well as 12 sailings of the Diamond Princess in Japan, and said
the virus could weigh on global demand for cruises. Shares fell 2%
Thursday.
T-Mobile US Inc.
T-Mobile's takeover of Sprint Corp. will test the idea that
three giants in the U.S. wireless market will compete as
effectively as four did. A federal judge approved the deal, worth
$26 billion when it was struck two years ago, and concluded that
the merger wasn't likely to substantially lessen competition. The
two companies spent more than seven years pursuing a combination
before striking an agreement in 2018 that would create a company
closer in size to Verizon and AT&T. Dish will become the fourth
major carrier, acquiring airwaves and about nine million customer
accounts from Sprint. T-Mobile shares gained 12% Tuesday.
Restaurant Brands International Inc.
The wildly-popular Popeyes chicken sandwich is now outperforming
other fast-food mainstays produced by its own parent company.
Restaurant Brands said Monday that higher revenue in the fourth
quarter was driven by gains from Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen while
its Burger King and Tim Hortons chains reported
weaker-than-expected sales. Tim Hortons introduced Beyond Meat Inc.
plant-based sandwiches last year but recently pulled them after
they failed to stir up sales, while Burger King's national rollout
of the plant-based Impossible Whopper wasn't enough offset the
chain's weakness during the quarter. Shares gained 3.2% Monday.
Alphabet Inc.
Google is tangling once again with the European Union's
antitrust enforcer. The Alphabet subsidiary told a Luxembourg court
Wednesday that European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager
had no legal grounds for awarding a multibillion fine for allegedly
abusing its dominance over smaller rivals. In 2017, she found that
Google stacked the deck in favor of its own comparison-shopping
service. A verdict isn't expected until early next year, but the
litigation is a test case for Ms. Vestager and the continuing
probes into Facebook Inc., Apple Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. Alphabet
shares gained 0.6% Wednesday.
Barclays PLC
Barclays Chief Executive Jes Staley is facing scrutiny of his
professional ties to Jeffrey Epstein, the financier and convicted
sex offender who died in jail last year. The U.K.'s Financial
Conduct Authority is examining how Mr. Staley characterized their
relationship to Barclays and how the British lender described it to
the regulator, Barclays said Thursday. Mr. Staley told reporters
his interactions with Mr. Epstein began in 2000 and "tapered off"
in 2013, with their last interaction taking place during 2015. In
2008, Mr. Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution from an
underage girl. American depositary shares of Barclays fell 0.7%
Thursday.
Mattel Inc.
Even "Toy Story 4" couldn't save Mattel's holiday sales. Growth
in its larger brands, such as Barbie and Hot Wheels, wasn't enough
to offset weakness for Fisher-Price and American Girl products
during the fourth quarter. Toy makers had to contend with a shorter
holiday shopping period in 2019 as they continue to adjust to the
absence of Toys "R" Us Inc. Mattel also said earlier this week it
has closed two factories in Asia and plans to close one in Canada
as the company reduces its sprawling manufacturing footprint to
reduce costs. Mattel shares fell 3.1% Friday.
Yelp Inc.
Yelp's latest performance is getting poor reviews from
investors. The online listings company reported
weaker-than-expected quarterly sales Thursday and named a new
finance chief as it faces pressure to improve its financial
performance. Best known for its reviews of restaurants and other
local services, Yelp has been pushing to develop other business
lines such as offerings for restaurant operators. In September, the
company said it added new features allowing restaurateurs to reach
consumers by sharing information on users' Yelp home screens. It
also rolled out a feature predicting wait times at restaurants.
Yelp shares fell 3.5% Friday.
Write to Francesca Fontana at francesca.fontana@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 14, 2020 18:28 ET (23:28 GMT)
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